The present invention relates to a method of reproducing magnetic recording data with a magnetic tape as a recording medium and a magnetic storage system employing the same, and more particularly to a technology of reproducing recording data from a magnetic recording medium having wide recording tracks, in which data are stored in accordance with the different track format standards, using a magnetic storage system which is developed in correspondence to a certain track format standard.
In the prior art magnetic storage media such as a magnetic disc unit and a magnetic tape unit, a width of a recording track by a magnetic head is substantially equal to a width of a regenerative track by a reproducing head. However, the increase of a capacity of the magnetic storage, in particular, the magnetic tape unit provides a situation in which a plurality of regenerative tracks are made to correspond to one recording track.
That is, the information recording format (track format) of a magnetic tape cartridge for information exchange is standardized in JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) .times.6124 (enacted on Sep. 1, 1990) in such a way that a width of a magnetic tape is 12.7 mm, eighteen magnetic tracks are included, data density is 1491 cpmm, and a width of each recording track is 0.540 mm. On the other hand, according to the American National Standard .times.3B/91-305, the information recording format is standardized in such a way that a width of a magnetic tape is 12.65 mm, thirty six recording tracks are included, data density is 1491 cpmm, and a width of each recording track is 0.285 mm.
If data which was stored in two kinds of magnetic tapes in accordance with those different information recording formats (track formats) is intended to be reproduced using one magnetic tape unit, it is necessary to employ a reproducing head having electromagnetic transducers the number of which corresponds to at least thirty six tracks. With respect to the relationship between the electromagnetic transducers of that reproducing head and the recording tracks on the magnetic tape on which data was recorded in conformity to JIS .times.6124, since two electromagnetic transducers are assigned to one recording track, two reproducing tracks are made to correspond to one recording track.